


Convene

by Lunaraven0



Category: Hermitcraft, Minecraft - Fandom
Genre: And this is my take on it, Gen, So I accidentally started the Into the Grian-verse thing on Tumblr, There aare several Grians and like 3 of them have Issues™, multiverse stuff, title may change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2020-09-01 19:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20263144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaraven0/pseuds/Lunaraven0
Summary: The Universe did something weird and now there's 5 new Grians.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read any of my previous works, this has nothing to do with that. I do what I want so this exists now.

Rendog was the one that found them at the spawn chunks. They were hiding under part of the old iron farm, in some dirt holes. It probably wouldn't have been super weird if the five of them didn't look like Grian clones.

Either this was an incredibly elaborate prank, or something very very weird had happened.

They watched as he landed next to the nether portal. "Uh, hello? Are you guys okay?"

Only one responded. On the far left, the Grian turned to face him. Then, in a blink, they were in front of him, making him jump. Their eyes were bright red. "Hello! My name is NPC_Grian. Would you like to learn how to build a house in Minecraft?"

Ren blinked, stepping back. "Uhm, no, thank you, I already-"

"Yes, you do! Come on!" NPC_Grian grabbed Ren's hand, nearly crushing it, and pulled him away from the portal.

"What?! No! Let go of me!" Ren tried to break away, digging his feet into the sand. The clone Grian didn't slow down, no matter how deep in the sand he got. "No!" He pulled out his sword and smacked them in the face with the flat of the blade a few times. They didn't blink. He then swung the sword at their arm.

When it connected, they blinked about ten blocks away, and Ren hit the ground. He scrambled to his feet, hurrying behind the portal. The only other person online was Xisuma, and he was AFK.

_ <rendog> X? X, wake up! There's a...situation at spawn._   
_ <rendog> Please hurry._

~

NPC_Grian examined the cut. He'd seen blood before; it had never come from his own body. A drop of it rolled off as the wound healed itself, leaving nothing but a faint white line.

NPC_Grian had only ever lived in creative mode. He had everything he needed at the flick of a finger. He never needed to eat, to heal, to run from fights.

Now his inventory was empty, and that player had hurt him. That player had weapons. Sure, he was stronger than that player, but swords were sharper, and they hurt.

It was a weird feeling, being vulnerable. It was too real. He didn't like it.

~

_ <Xisuma> A situation? How bad is it?_   
_ <rendog> I have it under control right now, but it could go bad if I don't have help._   
_ <rendog> You need to see this to get what I mean._

X got the general gist when he stepped out of the portal. "Ohhhhhhkayyyy??? Grian-"

"He's not online."

"Then how?"

"I don't know." Ren pointed to the one out in the open. "That one is NPC_Grian. He tried to drag me away to build a house for some reason. I get the feeling that he could get very hostile very quickly."

NPC_Grian waved. "Hello! I would be teaching you how to build a rustic house, but I appear to be in Survival Mode, and do not have anything to build with."

"He nearly pulled my arm off. The others haven't done anything."

X sighed. "Okay. NPC_Grian, do you remember how you got here?"

"Everything just disappeared around me and then this world appeared in its place. I don't know how it happened. Do you know where I can get building materials?"   
_That sounds odd._ "You can build stuff later. Right now, I need to figure out what's going on." He turned to Ren-

NPC_Grian blinked in front of him. "Why can't we build now?"

"Because this situation might be the beginning of something worse and I need more information."

"Well, I don't care. I just want to build rustic houses."

Ren stepped in. "Hey, NPC, would you mind standing in this convenient hole in the ground and not moving for a while? Because we do care."

"Hmmm. Maybe."

~

He watched as the man in green walked over to them, followed by the one in red. Their bright blue armor shone in the sunlight.

Then the red one stopped, looking confused. "One of them's missing...I swear, there were five when I got here."

"Including NPC?" The green one asked.

"Yeah, they must've disappeared when he was distracting me."

He backed into the hole further. One of the clones had gone rogue. Hopefully, it wasn't the robot guy.

The green one walked to sort of the center of the sand and cleared his throat. "Right. Is anyone going to volunteer to say hi? Or are you shy?"

Nothing happened for a moment. Then, the robot guy came into view. _Thank god. I did not want to fight a robot today._

"Hello. I am Robot Grian." He spoke in a very cut together way, like how a GPS directions voice would.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Xisuma. I'm the one making sure this place doesn't fall apart."

The guy in red waved. "I'm Ren. I basically just live here."

"Do you know why I am in Survival Mode? I was not built for survival functions, and have no programmed knowledge of it."

"It's because this is a survival server. Everyone is in that mode by default."

_ ....does that mean I have to hunt for food? Wait, can I die?_

"Ah. Is there any way to change it?"

Xisuma shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. It's the rules. Don't worry, we'll teach you how to survive."

"Thank you."

"Do you remember how you got here?" Ren asked.

"No. I was shut down a while ago and just booted up here."

_ Lucky._ He'd fallen through the void for ages before the ground came back. That was...very weird to experience.

It had also been the only new thing to happen in god knows how long at that damned house. At some point, he'd sort of stopped existing. He was there, but not really in his head.

It'd been like that for so long that being real again felt...wrong? Bad? He didn't know.

Something tapped on his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts. He swung in the direction of the thing and it backed off.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" It was the green guy. "Are you alright?"

_ No._ "Yeah, I'm fine. What do you want?"

"I just want to talk, okay?"

"What about?"

"Like, what's your name?"

"Grian."

"Just Grian?"

"Yep."

"Do you happen to have a nickname? My name is Xisuma, but most people call me X."

"Nope." _None that I like anyway._ "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, we have a friend in this world who's also named Grian, and NPC and the robot also have Grian in their names, so it could get really confusing really quick if we don't have ways to tell you apart."

"Oh. Yeah, that's fair. Anyway, where'd your red friend gone? Did he leave?”

"Yeah, he's helping the last one. They seem to be injured quite badly, so he's taking them to the main island with the others. They'll be safe there."

"Oh."

"Do you remember how you got here?"

"I...I think the world, what was left of it, just disappeared under me, and I was just falling for ages. Then I stopped and this world was here." He shook his head. "I don't have more than that. It's all kinda fuzzy."

X nodded. "That's okay. You can tell me later if you remember more. Right now, I'll take you the island with the others. You can all eat and rest if you need to."


	2. Chapter 2

The Grian in the last hole looked like he'd barely survived a house fire. His wings, hair, and clothes were blackened with ash, and his feathers were almost burned completely away. He was passed out in his hole, curled up in a very uncomfortable-looking position.

Ren, with the help of Robot_Grian, gently got him into a boat and sailed him over to the mainland. NPC_Grian didn't help, and followed in another boat.

They docked at the Stax4Stax Tavern. It was only then that he stirred, wincing and clutching Ren's shirt as he tried to sit up.  
"Ow...what...wha's happening?"

"We're trying to help, it's okay, I promise."

"Who...?"

"My name is Ren. Do you think you can stand up?"

"I...no, everything hurts...I can't breathe..."

Ren nodded. "Okay. We'll try not to hurt you anymore while we get you inside."

"O-okay."

He very gently gathered the Grian in his arms and with the help of Robot_Grian, got him inside and on a bed. He curled up on one side and tried to hide his face with one of his wings. It didn't work very well.

"Hey, uh, Robot, could you get a bucket and get some water for me? I think there's some iron in the chest you can use."

~

NPC_Grian examined the building. It wasn't exactly a rustic house, but it had several elements of a rustic house. He couldn't quite pin down what style it was, but he loved it. The most fascinating part of it was the roof. It sort of curved down in the middle, making it look like it was sagging from age. He wanted to get a closer look, but he had nothing to pillar up with. Instead of moping about it, he went inside.

It was just as detailed and fascinating on the inside. The walls appeared to be made of wood stripped of its bark. The floor was made of spruce planks, contrasting wonderfully with the walls. There was a small shop area, where a stack of chicken was available for various amounts of certain items. Upstairs was a sleeping area, with several beds and chests to store stuff. In the nearest bed was the winged Grian, with the red guy kneeling next to him.

He looked pitiful, honestly.

A moment later, the Robot walked in, carrying a bucket of water.

"Thank you. Set it down there." The red guy started talking to the winged Grian, talking about how he was going to help clean him up and try not to hurt him anymore, but NPC_Grian didn't really care.

Instead of paying attention to that fluff fest, he went downstairs and stole some chicken. He needed it where he was going.

~

Xisuma boated Grian down the ice path, answering his questions about the server.   
It was a community on friends that lived together, building amazing things on their world. When everyone agreed that they had run out of things to build, or the universe was updated, they moved to a new one. Not every Hermit moved to the new worlds though. They had their reasons, but everyone still missed them.

Their Grian was a builder. He had joined the Hermits on this world, standing there before them at the portal. He had done...so many things, it'd take far too long to recount them all.

The boat stopped.

"We're here."

"Where is 'here'?"

"My base. You need a communicator. You all do."

"Why?"

"It's how we talk across the world. If we need help, we can ask whoever is online."

They stepped into X's portal. On the other side was a gigantic room, mostly made of some sort of green bricks. The bricks made spike things that climbed the walls, going up to the roof, forming a very tall cone. In the center was a skylight, showing a blue sky.

"....holy shit."

"Language."

"What is this?!"

"It's my base. I built it on top of a drained sea temple. It also works as a guardian farm. You can see them up there." He pointed up near the top, and Grian could see odd fish creatures traveling around the walls.

"Woah."

X walked over to one side of the big room, where a bunch of colorful boxes sat. He opened a gray one sitting in the corner and, after a moment, he brought out a few small black rectangles that resembled phones. He handed one to Grian.

It lit up in his hand. The opening screen said _Welcome, YHS_Grian._

"What's 'YHS'?"

X shrugged. "I dunno. It's probably just how the universe is differentiating you from our Grian."

"Oh."

"The fun thing about these is they can never be lost. If you lose it, it'll just reappear in your pocket."

"Cool. Does it have Flappy Bird?"

X laughed. "No, unfortunately."


	3. Chapter 3

Robot_Grian didn't know what to do with himself.

The red human, Ren, was washing the winged one, and he didn't seem to need any help. NPC_Grian had wandered off into the woods with a stack of chicken for some reason, and the green human, Xisuma, hadn't met up with them yet.

So, instead of standing around inside feeling awkward, he sat outside on the dock feeling awkward, and just watched the water.

It wasn't anything special. A few fish darted between kelp strands, swimming against an unseen current, but that was it. It had its own sort of peace, though. Fish and kelp didn't have to worry about things like being transferred to a new world. If it happened to them, they probably wouldn't even notice.

Robot_Grian did notice though, and he hated it. He didn't want to talk to people, to walk everywhere, or to fight off monsters. He just wanted to build. It was what he was made for.

~

To pass the time, NPC_Grian did what he did best: build rustic houses. Fortunately, there was a small forest surrounding the tavern, so he had plenty of wood. It just took a while because of the whole survival thing.

Also, he didn't have any glass, so any future residents would have to deal with drafts and bugs.

It was an interesting experiment using the stripped logs. It worked beautifully as a floor and alternating the directions made a great checkerboard pattern that wasn't too obvious. He tried using it in the walls, but it didn't feel quite right to him.

He worked for what felt like hours, doing something different for every house he made. Soon, he had a whole neighborhood. He would have gotten to small village size if the green human hadn't appeared and interrupted his focus.

"What the heck are you doing??"

"Building."

"How long have you been at it?"

"An hour, I think." He hopped down from the roof of his last one, eating one of his chicken. "Why?"

"An hour?? How'd you do this much in an hour?"

"It's what I was made for. I'm very good at it."

Behind the green human, the Grian looked at NPC_Grian. He wasn't the original Grian, but he looked very similar to him. The main differences were the scars, the disheveled uniform, and the fact that he was much younger. He'd been in contact with dark things, very recently in fact, and faint traces of it still lingered. It was long gone, chased away by the Void, but it had left an impact.

It probably wasn't going to be a big impact, but it would be interesting.

The young Grian frowned. "Made?"

"Yes. Made. Do you like my houses?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. They're very...wooden.”

"Thank you!"

~

"How is he?"

"He's doing okay. He should be able to walk around tomorrow, after some proper rest."

They were talking about him. That wasn't inherently a bad thing, but it felt too loud, somehow. Like, it was crowding his brain, pushing out his thoughts.

He covered his ears with the pillow.

If he hadn't done anything, he wouldn't be here. If he had just listened to them, he would still be okay. If he had only done what he was told, he wouldn't have burned.

Something tapped him on the shoulder. He peeked out from under the pillow.

Ren was kneeling in front of him. "You alright?"

"You guys were talking and it...felt loud? Like it was crowding my head."

"We can go outside if you want."

"No, it's fine, you don't need to."

"It's okay, really. If you're uncomfortable, we don't need to be here."

"But-"

"Hey, we're not the ones recovering from a fire incident thing. It's okay. I promise." With that, he stood up and walked out.

The building was quiet again. He left the pillow over his head though, sighing into the mattress.

He tried to shift his wings, wanting to relieve some of the irritating itches that had started bothering him, but it hurt so much to move them. Hopefully, Ren was right and he would be better tomorrow, because he _hated_ this.


	4. Chapter 4

_Grian joined the game._  
_ Grian went to sleep. Sweet dreams._  
_ <Xisuma> Hey G!_  
_ <Xisuma> You anywhere near Stax4Stax?_  
_ <Xisuma> We need to chat._

~

Grian didn't really know what he expected. A chat could have meant anything. Plans for a build, a Sahara deal, some questions. But, those were normal expectations.

This was nowhere near the realm of normal, though, he knew exactly what had happened the moment he walked in. He'd messed something up.

They took their conversation outside, where it was slightly more private. Robot_Grian was laying on the dock, gently swirling his hand in the water.

"Is this all of them?"

"No, the NPC guy is out building a small town in the rest of the district, and one disappeared from spawn."

"Did they say anything about how they got here?"

X nodded. "NPC and the kid both said that the world disappeared out from under them. Robot was shut down at the time, and we haven't asked Bird yet."

"....This has something to do with my time machine; it has to be."

"Are you sure? It could've been that weird portal Doc's been working on. That's how Keralis came back."

"He came back through the portal, Ren found these guys at spawn. It has to be the time machine."

X shrugged. "Possibly, but I'm not convinced. I'll have to ask the Void's opinion when I've got the time. Anyway, you know about these guys...how?"

Grian glanced back at the building. "Yes...I technically created them, but don't tell them that."

"Like, they were characters of yours?"  
"NPC and Robot, yes, but the others...I was them at one point."

"Oh. You were a part of the story."

Grian smiled sadly. "In an Assassin's Creed type way. I had a hand in starting everything, but the story already existed. I was there, but I couldn't change anything. I was just...living it for a while. It was...weird, whenever I woke up as me again."

"...what do you want to do with them?"

"Let them live. Especially the kid, he's been through...so much. He deserves some peace."

~

"How old are you, anyway?"

It was a simple question, really, but Grian honestly didn't have an answer. "I...I don't remember...what year is it?"

"2019."

"...._fuck I'm 21._"

Ren laughed. "D'aww! You're the youngest one on the server now!"

"Oh yay."

  
"It's not a bad thing! It just makes you slightly more adorable!"

Something twitched in the corner of his eye, and he jumped to his feet-

"Wha? Did something happen?"

_ Oh._ It was just the bird guy, stretching. "No, sorry. You just startled me." He sat back down.

"'S'okay." He sat up from his bed. "What time is it?"

"It's about midday," Ren said. "You feeling any better?"

"Yeah. My wings itch like hell, but I can't do much about that."

"Are either of you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Yup."

Ren tossed both of them a golden carrot. It tasted pretty good, considering it was mostly metal.

Then...The Grian™ walked in.

It felt better to think of him as The Grian™. Like, he was just Grian, but this guy was the original, apparently. He was the oldest. He needed to be capitalized and given a ™. Also, it was kinda funny.

"Uh, hi guys."

Bird guy waved, looking unimpressed. Grian was also unimpressed, but it still felt weird looking at him. It was a bit like meeting a celebrity then realizing that they're just as ordinary as you, except weirder because you're their clone.

He raised his hand. "How old are you?"

"Uh, 26, why?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I was just curious."

"Okay then."

~

_ Docm77 joined the game._

Something somewhere was different. He could feel it buzzing in the world as soon as he logged in. Nothing seemed suspicious as he flew around, other than the usual Suspicious Hippie Business™, and it drove him mad. Maybe it was at the main island? But, the infinity portal was here. Surely it'd only affect this part of the world.

He could be very wrong though. You never knew with alien stuff. It had a tendency to be weird.

_ GoodTimeWithScar joined the game._

"Oh, hi Doc!" Scar said from behind him.

Doc turned. "Hey. Is it just me or does something just...feel _different_ today?"

Scar frowned. "Different how?"

"Like something happened somewhere."

"I...not really? Did we have a security breach?"

"I checked, everything is fine here, but something's going on, I can _feel_ it."

Scar shrugged. "If you say so. You could probably check the main island if there's nothing in the village, but I need to plan out some builds, so." He flew over to the bunker and disappeared.

Doc flew around the area once more, still finding nothing, before heading to the village nether portal.


	5. Chapter 5

He stayed by the water for hours. He didn't know why it was so intriguing, considering that he wasn't very waterproof. His arms and legs were, but everything else was very vulnerable. It was an unfortunate side effect of being redstone powered.

Something landed in the water in front of him, and he had to back up from the splash. The thing was a person, who soon disappeared. A voice behind him complained, "Since when are the oceans that cold!!?!? Geez!"

It was the winged guy. He was standing next to the doorway, shaking the water off of himself. It wasn't very effective.

Robot_Grian stood up. "Are you alright?"

The winged guy nodded. "Yeah. I was trying to throw the pearl to the end of the dock."

"You missed."

He laughed. "Yeah. Ren gave them to me, cause I can't exactly wear elytra."

"Do you need any help?"

"No. I'll get the hang of it. Eventually." He sighed. "Do you have a name? It feels weird to call you 'the robot guy'."

"Not really. I've only ever been Robot Grian."

"You could pick a new name, if you want."

"I....hm." Robot Grian didn't know many names. He'd never gone out enough to learn any.

"There's no rush, it's just a thought."

It was a thought he had no ideas to build upon. He didn't like not having ideas to build things. To distract himself, he asked, "Do you have a differing name?"

"Not yet. I'm still thinking. Bird Guy works for now, mostly cause its accurate." He looked over at the dock. "Do you mind if I join you with...whatever?"

"No. I wasn't doing much."

"That's fine with me."

~

The Grian™ had said they could use whatever was at his first base area to get set up with living or whatever. It was weird how generous he was, waving off any suggestion of payment for it. "I don't necessarily need any of it. I'll always be able to get more if I need it. You can have it, it's okay."

What he neglected to mention was that it was a _fucking mess._

Bird Guy had gone exploring. Grian on the other hand desperately wanted a nap. The tavern had beds, but there were too many people around. He took a boat over to the base as soon as he could.

Just looking at it made his head hurt. He made his way down using the water-vator (which was the coolest thing here) and found the bed tucked away in one of the big column things. The room didn't feel like a proper bedroom. It felt more like...a place for sleeping and nothing else. There was nothing personal here, unless you counted the mess.

He could clean it up later. Right then, he flopped down on the bed, forgetting the world entirely.

~

Xisuma's visits with the Void never took very long from an outside perspective, but they always made him feel funny afterward. This trip wasn't any different.

He sat down on the tallest obsidian pillar and waited.

The Void's voice filled his mind. **_You are worried about them?_**

_ How can I not be? It's unusual, and that's not always a good thing._

** _ I understand. You don't need to worry about the server's stability or safety. I can take care of it. All you need to do is help them settle. Especially the last one._ **

_ The one who disappeared from spawn?_

** _ Yes. He's experienced things no one deserves to experience._ **

_ What about the kid? Grian said he's been through a lot too._

** _ He has, but the last one's story is...more intense, so much so that hardly anyone can talk about him without feeling that hurt themselves._ **

_ Do you know where he is?_

** _ Hiding, on an island somewhere. He'll be found in time._ **

_ Is he safe?_

** _ Yes. Scared and confused, but safe._ **

_ Thank you._

** _ You should get back. You have work to do._ **

_ I know._  



	6. Chapter 6

There definitely hadn't been this many houses in the medieval district the last time Doc checked, and the ones that had been there previously weren't as...barren as these. They were well built, just empty. A few of them had beds and chests of random junk, but that was the most he found.

It was unsettling, somehow. Fortunately, Xisuma called a meeting in the shopping district, so he didn't have to stay for long.

When he got there, he immediately found the source of the day's weirdness.

There were three (3) extra Grians sitting next to Xisuma.

Doc landed down next to the haphazard circle of people and settled in next to TFC.

~

"Okay, first off, Doc, don't even think about it."

"But what if-"

"No. They're not aliens; the Void asked me to help them, so don't." Xisuma gestured to the three on his left. "These three, are sort of kinda alternate versions of Grian. No, this isn't a prank. They showed up here at spawn, and Ren was the first to find them, along with two others. One is currently asleep in our Grian's base. The other disappeared before we could meet him. Later, we'll talk about a plan to find him. But for now," he stepped back, giving then room to step up, "they'll introduce themselves."

The first to step up was the one who looked near identical to Grian. The only difference was that his eyes were a bright red, instead of green. "Hello, my name is NPC_Grian, that is what my communicator identified me as, and I love rustic houses and nothing else."

He left without another word.

"....is he always like that?" False asked.

"Yes."

The second to step up was the bird guy. He also looked identical to Grian, besides the wings. "Uh, hi, my name is Grian, you can call me Bird Guy or Evo, cause that appeared on my communicator. Despite what they look like, my wings are fine. The feathers are gonna grow back. They're kinda sensitive right now though, so please don't touch them, thanks."

A few people waved, saying hi back. He nodded in their direction and sat down with Ren.

The third one stepped up. He wasn't human; he was a robot, with gray metal skin, dark gray hair, and red lenses for eyes. "Hello. I am Robot Grian. I do not have an alternate name, so you can call me whatever you want until I figure one out."

Mumbo raised his hand. "What are you made of?"

"Uh, redstone, mostly. Grian built me, so he probably knows the specifics."

"Okay, cool!"

Robot Grian stood there for a moment, then stepped back behind Xisuma. X gently patted him on the shoulder and then stepped up in front of everyone.

"Right. Next thing: Plan to find the missing Grian. Any suggestions?"

Cub raised his hand. "Start from spawn, split up, search every direction?"

"That seems the most obvious option," Joe said.

"Couldn't you just track him?" Cleo asked. "You do that with us all the time."

X shook his head. "I do that using your comms; he doesn't have one."

"Could the Void track him?" Jevin asked. "Or are they doing the 'no interference' thing?"

"Yeah. They have their reasons."

"Splitting up seems like the only option then," Scar said. "What do we do when we find him?"

"Be _very_ cautious. The Void told me he was scared, and has been through some horrible stuff. There's no telling how he'll react. If he attacks, defend yourself but try not to hurt him. We can't help him if he's hurt and doesn't trust us."

~

_You were running from something. You couldn't look back; you couldn't stop. The trees whispered things. Things you'd heard before, things that hurt. Your head pounded with each sentence._

** _ You're nothing._ **

** _ You did this._ **

** _ Why are you acting so crazy?!_ **

** _ Grian? Who's Grian?_ **

** _ What are you talking about? They're not aliens._ **

** _ This is all your fault. You had the book!_ **

** _ Why are you still here? Shouldn't you have jumped into the void by now?_ **

_ A different voice started now, one that made your heart ache with loneliness._

** _ Your journey isn't over yet._ **

** _ You're free._ **

** _ You can recover; you will recover._ **

** _ You are tainted, but you can grow to be better._ **

** _ Listen to them. Learn from them. They want to help._ **

** _ ...I miss you._ **

_ Tears welled up in his eyes. You knew that voice, but where it was from evaded you._

_T__hen you crashed into a tree_, and bolted upright in the bed with a gasp.

There was no forest, no running, no voices. Grian was safe in the box-infested base.

To no one in particular, he whispered, "...well fuck, okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh, if any of you makes fan art or something, put it on Tumblr. I lurk in the hermitcraft tag, so I'll see it there.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why's it so empty?" Evo asked.

"I dunno. I didn't get around to filling it up, I guess. You guys can, if you want." Grian absentmindedly looked through a few shulkers. "There's not much in the way of good tools here, but it should at least get you started."

Robot Grian dropped down on a boat. "Is there any diamond stuff?"

"Yeah, but the enchantments probably aren't very good."

Just then, the kid wandered out from a hole in the wall, where the bed was kept. His outfit looked scrumbled, like he'd been rolling around. He yawned. "Hi. What do you want?"

"Gri said we could crash, remember?" Evo said.

"Oh, right."

Grian frowned. "Are you okay? You look like a mess."

"I...I tried to sleep and had a nightmare. I'm fine now though."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I can't recall much of it." Grian didn't quite believe that, but he decided not to press the matter.

Grian helped them clean up the three columns, making rooms for beds and lighting everything up. He hadn't done that since the things were built. He'd never gotten around to making that mob farm; it was okay though. The kid looked genuinely excited about decorating his column.

"These things go all the way to build height, so you can do whatever with it. There's even some room under it, so if you want a spooky basement, you can go nuts."

"...holy shit this is the best day of my life. Do...do I owe you anything?"

"Nope. It's all free. You might have to gather some of the building materials yourself, but that's not that hard, just kinda grindy."

"W-wow. Thank you."

"No problem, kid. If you need anything else, message anyone, they'll be happy to help. I'm gonna be busy in Hippie Land, so, I might not be available."

"Yeah, okay."

~

_ EVO_Grian went to sleep. Sweet dreams._  
_ RBT_Grian went to sleep. Sweet dreams._  
_ NPC_Grian went to sleep. Sweet dreams._  
_ YHS_Grian went to sleep. Sweet dreams._

~

"You saw them too right?" Doc asked.

"Yep," Scar said. "They're under the Void's protection though, so we can't do anything." The two were boating back to A77 together, discussing the Grian Clones.

"What do you think of the NPC guy?" Doc asked.

"I think he's a demon."

"Why?"

Scar shrugged. "His eyes are red, and he walks like he only vaguely knows how legs work."

"...fair point."

"What can we do about the missing guy?"

"Help find him. If he's scared, then taking him in to study is out of the question. It wouldn't be right."

"Like how we handled Keralis?"

"Hey, we apologized! And he wasn't ever scared of us. This guy...he might not be like us, so, it's reasonable that he's scared. Taking him for study would probably just mess him up."

The boat arrived at the Hermitville portal, and they hopped out.

"The search starts tomorrow, right?" Scar asked.

"Yeah. I need to make progress on the Infinity Portal tonight anyway," Doc said.

Scar rolled his eyes, grinning. "You hardly work on anything else. You and your aliens, breaking the laws of Minecraft, I swear."

"It'll be interesting when it's done, I promise."

~

He'd run from the first island before anyone could notice him, consumed by the fear of having nothing to trust but himself again. Thankfully, he hit land just before he ran out of energy, but he'd passed out on that beach without a second thought.

When he woke, sand had gotten in every uncomfortable corner of his clothes. His head was pounding; his magic was gone. Not just drained, _removed, **taken**_. All those spells he'd fought for, just gone with one long fall.

He almost didn't want to get up because of that. What was the point of anything without his magic? He couldn't fight back against anything without it. He had no chance of getting back without it.

The only reason he got up from there was that slowly dying on a beach was boring and agonizing. At least surviving meant less thinking.

And so he survived.

And as he survived, he discovered the thing that made this world so very very agonizing.

It gave him magic he couldn't access. It happened when he killed a monster, when he mined some coal, when he cooked food, when he smelted something, whenever nearly anything happened, particles of green and yellow magic flew into his chest.

He could feel it. It just sort of, sat there, in his chest, just a bit to the right of where his old magic had been.

He hated it. He hated it so much that his hands shook. Or was that the fatigue?  
It didn't matter.


	8. Chapter 8

Evo liked the XP magic better than any other kind of magic he'd ever experienced. It didn't demand anything from him, like his Watcher magic used to. He'd gone so long without it, he'd forgotten how warm and fuzzy it felt.

Grian, the younger one, hadn't ever seen it before. It made sense, he wasn't from a world where magic was a regular thing. He...didn't look very enthused.

"You okay? It's not like...evil, I promise. It's just a thing, like air."

"I...I think I'll be fine." Grian's hands were shaking slightly. "Does it...show up at random or what?"

"No. Whenever you smelt something, kill a mob, mine something valuable, or trade with a villager, it appears as a reward. You can also get it from Bottles O' Enchanting, but that's more of a 'for fun' thing."

Grian put a hand over his chest. "Okay." He seemed uncomfortable, so Evo didn't press further.

Robot Grian hadn't used magic before either, but that was only because he used to live in Creative. He'd never needed it. It didn't feel that different from his natural redstone energy, really. He liked it.

~

The search was on the next day. They split up in all four directions. Once they hit land, they spread out further, looking for any evidence of the missing Grian.

It was 4 hours before someone found anything, and it only happened because Welsknight fell into a ravine. It wasn't the guy, but a very sure sign of him.

At the very bottom of the ravine was a clearly player-created hidey-hole of sorts. It was empty, save for a double chest of junk, a few torches, and a simple staircase carved up the other side. A very early base that was quickly abandoned. No one had ever made any early stuff in this area, so it had to be him.

That was it for another two hours.

The next sign was a village. It wasn't any different from any other village, but the villagers whispered. They whispered about a new player, one who'd walked through their village. They said he wore odd clothes, with a fancy robe folded and tied around his waist. They said he muttered about old magic, the kind of stuff that was dark, unsafe, and addictive. They said he looked sick, and so very tired.

~

There wasn't much room left in the Medieval District. That was a shame. Rustic houses wouldn't really work in any other District. They might work in the 1.14 village, but that was so far away, and people had claimed most of that.

Maybe the End?

No, the Void would pester NPC with requests to '**_be a better person_**' and '**_make some real friends you stubborn bastard_**'. They were just annoying enough to make the trip not worth it.

He supposed he could just go to a random empty part of the world and build there, but then he wouldn't get to see everyone else's stuff and get inspired. It was all fascinating, really. He'd never stopped and looked at other people's builds before, and now that he was, he had so many new ideas. It was like magic. He hadn't been this inspired in so long; he never wanted it to stop.


	9. Chapter 9

Flying lessons. Right. Yeah. That was normal and definitely not terrifying. The elytra bumped against his heels as he inched towards the edge. The scaffolding pillar didn't feel stable enough at this dizzying height, even with zero wind and Evo holding him steady.

"If you decide you hate flying after this, I won't make you keep doing it, but you at least need to try, " Evo said. "Just, lean forward and fall, the elytra will catch you."

"And if it doesn't?"

"The water will. You'll be fine either way."

"Didn't somebody prove that falling on water feels the same as falling on concrete?"

"Those physics don't apply here, I promise."

Grian looked down. "..._fuck_."

"Do you think you can jump on your own, or do you need a push? Like a young bird leaving their nest?"

"Either way is terrifying."

"Right. On three, I'll push you, okay?"

"O-okay."

"Ready? One, two-"

And then he was shoved, and with a yelp, he fell. His elytra activated near-instantly, sending him more forward than down. He leaned up, like he'd been instructed, to slow down. It wasn't flying, but more of a controlled fall. He couldn't help but focus on the 'fall' part, unfortunately.

"You're doing great," Evo yelled out behind him, "I'll come to catch you in a boat!!"

He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself. Maybe it'd be over faster if he didn't look.

Then something crashed into him. He let out a startled yell as whatever it was pushed away and he tumbled in the air. He hit the water seconds later.

~

The crash was his fault. He hadn't been paying attention. His mask wasn't even in his eyes this time; he'd just been too lost in his own over-dramatic head. Fortunately, the kid knew how to swim.

He dived in to help them anyway. They tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he didn't let them go until they reached the shore. They immediately hid under the nearest tree.

They looked exactly like Grian. The only difference was their age, much younger, their outfit, a raggedy school uniform without the coat and tie, and how they'd been flying, like a scared beginner.

_Wait...is that the school kid? Didn't Grian leave that behind forever ago?_

"Who are you and why are you the chicken man?!"

"It's Poultry Man, actually. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just wet, why'd you run into me?!"

"My fault, I wasn't paying attention. Do you need any help getting home? Rockets, food, anything?"

"No, my friend said he'd get me in his boat."

They looked past him to the shore and ran over. At the shore was a boat, and sitting in it was probably their friend. They also looked like a clone of Grian, except this one wore a purple shirt similar to Grian's and had nearly featherless wings. 

_...the Watcher? He's here?!_

The Watcher stood and let the school kid hide behind him. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Poultry Man. I live in this world. I accidentally crashed into your friend and wanted to help."

The Watcher nodded, then turned to the kid. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just wet."

The Watcher looked him over, then wrapped him in a hug, using both his arms and wings. The kid seemed slightly surprised. "You want to go home?"

The kid nodded. "I'll try again tomorrow."

They got in the boat together. "You live nearby?" The Watcher asked.

"Not really. I bounce around the world each day. It depends on what I'm feeling."

"Well, if you're in the area, feel free to stop by; maybe we can do proper introductions."

"Yeah."

Poultry Man waited until they were out of his sight, then took off, heading for the nearest portal. 

Grian had some explaining to do.


	10. Chapter 10

There were people following him. He didn't know what they wanted, but he didn't care. He just didn't want to be a part of it, whatever it was.

This world had so much magic, so much that it manifested in like a million different tiny ways. Water could flow from stone, with seemingly no source. Sounds, terrible sounds like the roar of some unseen beast echoed from nearby caves. Monsters simply appeared from shadows that were empty seconds before. Some monsters he didn't recognize, but he knew their names as if he had always known them. But, that couldn't be possible. Creepers and endermen didn't exist where he came from.

Lots of things here didn't exist where he came from, and yet he always knew the names.

It all felt unreal.

~

Grian was not at the hippie commune. The place was empty, save for Renbob asleep in his van and a few cows.

Poultry Man entered the van and poked Renbob's face. "Hey. Hey, wake up."

He just sniffed and rolled over.

Poultry Man poked him harder. "Renbob!! Hey!!"

Nothing.

Poultry Man left the van, returned with a bucket of water, and proceeded to dump it on the hippie's face.

That woke him up, spluttering and coughing. "Come on man! What was that for!?"

"You sleep like a dead brick. Where is everybody?"

"I don't know. They went into the tunnels a while ago." Renbob took off his flower crown, frowning at it. "You got my crown wet."

"You can make another one."

"I know."

Poultry Man moved to the door.

"Hey, man, before you leave, do you want any beetroot soup? It's only 2 diamonds."

"No, thank you Renbob." He left. When he was put of sight of the van windows, he smacked himself. They were probably raiding A77. He should've guessed. Either they had been captured or-

_Grian left the game._   
_impulsesv left the game._   
_renthedog left the game._

Ah. They found it. They'd probably be gone for a while, and the Void only knew where they'd turn up when they got back.

All he could do was wait.

~

Robot Grian had discovered that he loved decorating. He'd always been good with details, but doing that for a space that was his and his alone, making it feel just right, was just...breathtaking.

He didn't actually have breath to be taken, but it felt like it.

He'd had to make several trips to get more stuff, which was a pain because water elevators were everywhere and places with them usually didn't have stairs, but it was worth it.

His room was very green. It was his new favorite color. The bed, the carpets, the ceiling; nearly everything that could be green, was some shade of it. Everything that wasn't green had plants next to it.

He was just leaving for another resource trip when he saw a chest with a sign on it.

It read: 'For the new server residents! <3' In it was a book written by Keralis, which said, "You all are cordially invited to the New Guy Village™, to visit and stay if you wish. We have a rustic/medieval theme, and a no flying policy, making it perfect for good old fashioned relaxation. We can be found past the hill behind Area 77!

Build something,  
Buy something,*  
See something great!*

*please note that there may not be anything to buy or see yet, as we've only just started the town.

See you maybe!  
-Keralis & Bdubs"

Robot Grian put the book back for the others to see. Maybe he could go over there later? They probably had stairs! Water elevators weren't very rustic. It might be interesting to see. He just had to finish some things first.

~

They'd caught up with him. The small forest village had been searched and now they were outside his door.

They hadn't come in yet though, which was odd. Usually, when people went looking for him, they barged in immediately and tried to kill him. They seemed to be talking about something. After a moment, one of them walked over to the house he was hiding in. He backed away from the door to the farthest corner, which really wasn't that far.

They opened it gently, looking in at him. Then they smiled. "Howdy, my name is Joe Hills." Closing the door behind him, Joe sat down and just looked at him. "Are you doing alright?"


	11. Chapter 11

Joe studied the man who looked like Grian. He was huddled in the far corner, sort of shrinking in on himself as if he could disappear if he tried hard enough.

His clothes looked very stereotypically medieval, like something out of a movie, or the average DND campaign. Brown robe with gold-threaded hems, off white shirt with a tiny v in the collar that had an x of thread through it, brown pants, leather boots, leather gloves, the whole nine yards. He was very pale, and he looked exhausted.

"...Do you have a name?"

He squinted at Joe suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"To help you. That's it."

"Are you lying?"

"No. I swear to the Void I'm not."

"Why were you and your people following me then?"

"Well, we can't help you if you're in the middle of a nowhere forest."

"You have a point, but, I don't want the help."

"Are you sure? You're looking pretty pale."

He gritted his teeth. "I'm fine, and as long as you're not going to kill me, I'm leaving." He stood, took three steps toward the door, and fell. Joe barely caught him before he hit the ground.

"No, you absolutely are not 'fine'."

After a moment, Not-Grian opened his eyes, shoved his way out of Joe's arms and onto the floor. "...you have another point."

~

"What's that stuff on your wings?"

Evo looked at them. "What stuff?"

The young Grian pointed. "The little spike things. It kinda looks like hedgehog spikes, but more brown."

"Oh, that!" Evo smiled. "It's just quills, for new feathers. It's fine."

"Oh. Does it hurt?"

"No. They're just kinda itchy."

"How long does it take to grow all the way?"

"A week or two. It's annoying, but not too bad."

"Cool."

They were wandering around the Mini-Game District, poking into everything but not really doing much. They were on their way to the New Guy Village. Robot Grian and NPC Grian were already there, though NPC only went because he heard the word 'rustic'.

"Why do some of these have lava? Isn't that dangerous?"

"That's the point; it's no fun without the danger."

"Won't something catch fire eventually?"

"Fire tick is off, so, no."

They made their way through the district, through Falsewell, and past A77, taking as much time as they wanted to look at absolutely everything.

They arrived at the village entrance to see Bdubs waiting for them. He perked up as the approached.

"Hey! The younger Grian, and, uh, Bird...Guy! Sorry, what's your name again?"

"It's just Evo. Bird Guy is my cousin."

"Oh, yeah, right! Anyways, you want a tour? We don't have much yet, but there's a giant skeleton that's totally real and not a tourist trap!"

Evo laughed. "That sounds great!"

~

It was perfect here. There was so much room, plentiful wood, and the location was amazing. Keralis' barn was beautiful; NPC_Grian studied it for as long as he could, wanting to learn from it and how detailed it was. Bdubs' house was equally gorgeous. There was so _much_ happening in such a small space, and it felt so...alive.

Robot Grian was just as amazed, although he didn't express it by attempting to hug the buildings as NPC_Grian did. He mostly walked around and stared, awestruck.

The iron skeleton statue was the "main feature", as Keralis put it. He knew it had only existed there for a few days, but it felt like it had been there longer than anything he knew had been living for. Like it had seen so much, and could see through him if it wanted.

He loved it.

~

Joe said they were taking him somewhere to rest, whatever that meant. He'd been sleeping just fine here. Having trouble standing didn't mean he needed more of it.

He stayed behind Joe as he talked with his group. He just barely trusted him over everyone else, as he looked the least threatening.

They were staring. They tried to hide it, but it wasn't working very well.

"Where's the nearest portal?"

"I think we're near the Country Club. There should be some beds there too."

"Good. Anyone got any carrots?"

Joe turned to him, handing him a stack of something small and golden. "Do you think you can chill around here for a bit?"

"More important question: the fuck is this?"

"Golden carrots. It's food; you'll probably feel better if you eat it."

His jaw dropped. "How'd you get this much gold!?"

"Very carefully. Please eat it, at least one."  
Joe went over to the group, messing around in boxes and talking more with them. The native villagers went about their business, unbothered by the abrupt visit.

He tentatively ate a carrot. It wasn't terrible, considering it was made of gold. Gold wasn't the only surprising thing they had, though. Their armor and tools were made of diamond, and all of it shimmered with the faint purple glow of magic. It was the same as the green and yellow stuff, he could feel it, and they had used it for themselves. 

That meant that he could use it too. He just needed to know how.

Then, a sudden cacophony of noise sounded nearby, and he nearly leaped out of his skin. He crouched down, covered his head, waiting for the inevitable-

But it never came. When he looked out again, Joe was there, kneeling between the source of the noise and him. 

"Hey, look at me." He was so quiet. "Nothing is going to hurt you. It's just a portal. I should've warned you about how loud they are."

"Portal?" He looked, and, there was definitely a portal. If there were portals in his world, he'd never seen one. There were always stories though.

"It leads to the Nether. It's like the typical description of Hell, but the damnation is replaced by lava."

"...huh. You go through it often?"

"Yeah. 1 block in the Nether is 8 in the Overworld. It's faster." Joe stood, and held out his hand. "You'll be safe with us. I promise."

"...okay." He took the hand.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so, some Things:  
1.) How and why is *this* my most popular fic?  
2.) To the guy that commented on my most recent fic asking about this one, even though that fic is completely unrelated to this one: don't do that. Please. It's rude.  
3.) If any of you ever make art for this: tag me in it @lunaraven0 on tumblr. It might make my brain want to write this more.

_Grian joined the game._   
_renthedog joined the game._   
_impulsesv joined the game._

~

Poultry Man finally caught up with Grian next to his flower barn thing. He was busy looking around in his mess of storage and didn't see Poultry Man storm up to him.

"Why in the Void's name are _they_ here!?"

Grian nearly leaped out of his skin. "What the-!?"

"NPC Grian and the Watcher I get, but the _student_!? _Valor_!? You abandoned their stories, how the hell did they come back!?"

"I don't _know_! Honest! I thought it was the-"

"It was never that machine; that thing travels through _time_, not worlds!"

"I know, but-"

"You did something to make them come back. You had to. We don't even _exist_ without you; there has to be something you did!"

~

Leaving the portal was just as nauseating as entering it had been, but the end result was better. The normal world wasn't unbearably hot.

The country club was huge. There were buildings everywhere, and more structures spreading behind those buildings. He didn't pay attention to any of it as one of the white-coat guys, Cub, led him over to the big main building and down some stairs. The room appeared to be a lounge of some sort.

He still didn't pay attention to any of it as Cub set up a bed in the corner. He just fell onto it and passed out.

~

The poor guy didn't even sleep for an hour before nightmares started. They looked really awful too, judging by how he literally whimpered in fear. Joe tried to wake him, but he just turned away from his touch, muttering, "No, no, no, not again, please no."

Joe got the feeling that he didn't want to know what the dreamswere about. 

To keep his mind off the thought, Joe busied himself making a starter box for the Not-Grian. It had all the essentials: golden-carrots, silk-touch pick, fortune pick, ax, shovel, sword, armor, bow & arrows, trident, all enchanted diamond provided by ConCorp. He didn't put an elytra in it; who knew how this Grian would react to heights.

Joe didn't know what to do after that. He had other projects to work on, but leaving him alone didn't feel right.

Thankfully, someone appeared at the door. It was Robot Grian, looking like he didn't want to be seen.

"You can come in. I don't bite."

"It's not you I'm worried about."

"Oh, he's passed out right now. Did you need anything?"

The robot shook his head. "No. I just..."

"Wanted to see him for yourself?” Joe gestured at the bed. "Look! He exists! Yaaay!"

Robot Grian rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can see that."

He was The Real Grian™'s copy in almost everything but his history. He had the same hair, same face, and same body. Robot Grian could even remember the real one wearing that exact robe once, a long time ago.

The only thing that separated them physically was that this Grian had a scar made of three thick lines crossing the right side of his mouth.

Robot Grian didn't know what had made that scar. He really didn't _want_ to know what had made it.

~

It was the next day when he woke up. He still felt terrible. He couldn't remember what existing without magic was like, but he was pretty sure it hadn't entailed a constant headache and nausea.

Maybe that's just what it felt like because it had been stolen all at once.

Disgruntled at the fact that he was awake, he took off his outer robe as best as he could without getting up. He then bunched it into a ball and hugged it to his chest.

He lay there for a long time, just...thinking.  
Then his thoughts started going bad places, and he abruptly decided that now was the perfect time to get up and attempt to join the productive people in...whatever productive people did around here.

He sat up, slow and shaky, trying to ignore the way his vision faded out and his hearing started to buzz. When he could see again, he realized he was looking at a strange purple box. On top of it was a signed book. The contents of these things were probably meant for him, but that wasn't the interesting thing.

The interesting thing was the man made of metal sitting next to the box.

~

_You're laying on top of a grassy hill, watching the clouds pass slowly overhead. Nothing here looks like your world. There are more round things, sharp clean diagonals, a sun that hurts to look at during the day and moves far slower than you remember_.

_And she's there with you. She doesn't look like you remember her, but it's still her. You know it is._

_She brought the two of you here, after all._

_She says that she found her way here a while ago._

_She says you have a way here too._

_You just need to be ready, to recover first. At least somewhat._

_She holds your hand now, squeezing it gently._  
_You smile and lean into her_ and fall off the bed twisted in the red blanket.

The door of the building opened and it's builder, Bdubs, was standing there looking concerned.

"You okay, Gri?"

Bdubs started calling him Gri yesterday, and he didn't mind. It was entirely new; it didn't hurt.

"Yeah." He untangled himself from the blankets, standing. "Did you want something?"

"I was gonna show you my plans for the village, if you want to hear 'em."

He _really_ wanted to hear them. "Yeah, why not?"

~

The thing about re-growing a giant pair of wings worth of feathers was that it itched like all hell.

The thing about growing brand new tail feathers was that it itched like all hell, _and_ you can't sit down normally for a while.

This meant that, recently, he spent most of his time pacing.

The first time he grew out his wings, Evo didn't have any tail feathers. Maybe falling from the Watchers's grace had made him different, so now he was physically different to match?

He didn't know.

Right then, he was nearby Keralis & Bdubs's village, unable to stay still. Every so often, he glanced over to where Bdubs and the young Grian were talking. They were discussing the plans for a diagonally built shopping street thing, and techniques for decorating builds like that.

The young Grian looked...relaxed. He hardly ever looked relaxed; the kid's default state of being seemed to be high alert, like he was always waiting for an attack. That made sense, considering the shit that had happened to him.

Talking about building always relaxed him. That was a good thing, for him to relax. Evo had grown fond of him; he worried about him. 

Although...there was something else.

Something else that nagged at the back of his brain, something so subtle he could know it was there but not pin down what it was.

So he paced around the trees, waiting.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop, if there was one.

Who knew, really?


End file.
